1 00:00:08.600 --> 00:00:10.420 All right. Thank you guys so much for watching. 2 00:00:10.430 --> 00:00:14.460 Today is an exciting day because I am here in San Diego at the National Funding 3 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:18.300 Headquarters with a person that is a legend in this industry. 4 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:21.100 I'm gonna go ahead and let you introduce yourself to the people that don't know 5 00:00:21.100 --> 00:00:23.940 who you are, and go ahead and tell them who you are, 6 00:00:24.480 --> 00:00:26.300 who the company that you're with. Obviously we're here, 7 00:00:26.330 --> 00:00:28.740 your title and what you do here. Perfect. 8 00:00:28.740 --> 00:00:31.140 Thank you so much for the introduction. Justin Thompson, 9 00:00:31.860 --> 00:00:35.860 national Funding here in San Diego, California. I'm the Chief Revenue Officer, 10 00:00:36.400 --> 00:00:38.140 and not only do I manage national funding, 11 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.180 but also manage quick Bridge up in Irvine, which is our sister company, 12 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.820 manage all sales divisions, whether it be wholesale, retail, 13 00:00:45.220 --> 00:00:48.340 strategic partnerships, and business development. Awesome. 14 00:00:48.680 --> 00:00:52.540 And we're actually gonna play a game of pool while we, uh, talk, 15 00:00:53.010 --> 00:00:57.100 talk about the, the industry, your career, just a little bit of everything, 16 00:00:57.160 --> 00:01:01.540 so it's gonna be a fun time. Absolutely. Do you want a break? Yeah, 17 00:01:01.770 --> 00:01:02.980 that was good. Nice, nice. 18 00:01:04.290 --> 00:01:08.060 Last time we were here was 2019, which is crazy to believe. 19 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:14.300 And since 2019, what has changed in the industry out west? Wow. 20 00:01:14.300 --> 00:01:18.700 There's a lot that's changed really. The, the digital evolution, the, 21 00:01:18.720 --> 00:01:23.380 the movement with people coming out here and the way that we 22 00:01:23.660 --> 00:01:27.060 communicate and acquire SMBs, uh, 23 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:29.020 not only from the traditional direct mail marketing, 24 00:01:29.020 --> 00:01:32.700 but also now digitally is so important to the space. Yeah. Well, 25 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:35.940 you know what's interesting is that since Covid has happened and since you've 26 00:01:35.940 --> 00:01:39.740 been in this industry for 20 plus years, give or take, 27 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:42.820 you've seen everything. Yeah. So my question to you is, 28 00:01:42.880 --> 00:01:46.940 how has sales changed in this business? Yeah, it's gotten way faster, 29 00:01:47.250 --> 00:01:50.100 more products available, different types of products are available. 30 00:01:50.610 --> 00:01:54.700 Back when I started, you had a split type program, merchant cash advance, 31 00:01:54.850 --> 00:01:58.700 very short term went off credit cards and how they batched. Now today, 32 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:03.580 you have longer terms of anywhere from 24 to 36 months daily, weekly, 33 00:02:03.580 --> 00:02:07.340 and even biweekly. Monthly products have entered into our space and really, 34 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:09.180 you know, depending on, 35 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:11.180 on what kind of lender you are and where you like to buy, 36 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:15.580 there's lenders now for a, all the way down to the D type paper. Nice. 37 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:19.300 So you've talked to merchants, you talk to business owners, 38 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.820 you talk to everyone. Uh, for those merchants that are shy, 39 00:02:23.090 --> 00:02:27.420 what do you say to them? Yeah, ask a lot of questions. 40 00:02:27.430 --> 00:02:30.220 Understand what you're getting into as you're getting into it, 41 00:02:30.360 --> 00:02:35.260 and make sure that you are working with somebody that you like 42 00:02:35.260 --> 00:02:37.700 and trust. Make sure you work with somebody you have a relationship with, 43 00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:40.700 not only for the first deal, but also for future deals. 44 00:02:40.760 --> 00:02:42.380 As you're building a relationship with that lender, 45 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.180 how do you think that business owners like to communicate? What's their, 46 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:49.780 what's their preference? Yeah. I show my age a little bit here. 47 00:02:49.780 --> 00:02:52.620 When I got started, it was really all about faxing and phone. 48 00:02:53.050 --> 00:02:55.460 Then it evolved to phone and email. 49 00:02:55.720 --> 00:03:00.300 Now it's all texting and some phone because small business owners work off their 50 00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:03.660 cell phone all day long as they're working. Texting is great. 51 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:06.860 I would highly suggest typically number one form of communications, texting. 52 00:03:07.170 --> 00:03:10.660 Then second in is phone, then third is email. Third is email. 53 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.820 So you just said you dated yourself a little bit. 54 00:03:13.240 --> 00:03:16.500 So let's talk about since you first started in this industry, 55 00:03:17.570 --> 00:03:20.820 what has fundamentally stayed the same in regards to sales? 56 00:03:20.920 --> 00:03:23.660 In regards to this industry? Fundamentally stayed the same. 57 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:28.260 Is all SMBs need working capital for their business. They need it to survive, 58 00:03:28.760 --> 00:03:31.460 and it's an opportunity for them to build a relationship with a lender. 59 00:03:31.720 --> 00:03:32.780 And then from the sales side, 60 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:37.500 the important part is whether no matter how you communicate with the smb, 61 00:03:37.760 --> 00:03:41.940 the important part is building that relationship. Do like ultimately, 62 00:03:42.880 --> 00:03:45.780 can anyone be good in sales or does it have to have, 63 00:03:45.800 --> 00:03:48.180 do you have to have a specific type of trait for this business? 64 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:51.900 Cause I know a big part of that is building relationships and just being someone 65 00:03:52.650 --> 00:03:53.500 that people like. 66 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.900 So let's talk a little bit about what trait do you have to have to be good? 67 00:03:56.900 --> 00:03:59.340 Does it come naturally? Yeah. 68 00:03:59.440 --> 00:04:04.180 So there's will and skill and half of it is wanting to do it. 69 00:04:04.490 --> 00:04:07.460 This is a business where it's technically financing, 70 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:09.540 but you gotta come in and you gotta work hard. 71 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:12.900 You almost have to have a blue collar type work ethic where you're calling 72 00:04:12.910 --> 00:04:14.340 early. We're on the west coast, 73 00:04:14.960 --> 00:04:18.980 so I have sales reps that get in here at 6:00 AM they're calling 9:00 AM on the, 74 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:19.833 on the East coast. 75 00:04:20.200 --> 00:04:23.620 And you gotta have that will to come in and want to continue to reach out to 76 00:04:23.620 --> 00:04:26.780 those business owners, build those relationships. Business owners are busy. 77 00:04:26.780 --> 00:04:29.140 They're, they're all day long working in their business. So, 78 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:33.900 and then there's skill and the skill piece to it is, is not only having, um, 79 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:37.340 an amazing ability to listen, but an amazing ability to relate. 80 00:04:37.880 --> 00:04:40.740 And that's the key. If you have the will and the skill, you wanna work hard, 81 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:43.820 be consistent at what you do, listen to your SMBs, 82 00:04:43.820 --> 00:04:45.940 build a relationship and relate to them, 83 00:04:46.080 --> 00:04:50.340 you're gonna be extremely successful in this business by helping SMBs long term. 84 00:04:50.960 --> 00:04:53.580 So let's talk about the human element. You know, 85 00:04:53.900 --> 00:04:57.980 nowadays there's so many different things going on. You have just so many like, 86 00:04:58.440 --> 00:04:59.040 uh, 87 00:04:59.040 --> 00:05:03.140 things that are out of this world that are kind of imp getting implemented into 88 00:05:03.140 --> 00:05:07.580 sales. How important is the human element, the human component to this business? 89 00:05:08.050 --> 00:05:12.420 Yeah, and it's, it's growing because more lenders are in the space. 90 00:05:12.820 --> 00:05:17.340 Products have evolved and the one thing that separates most companies 91 00:05:18.200 --> 00:05:20.380 are the ability to relate to the business owners. 92 00:05:20.520 --> 00:05:25.380 So with the growth of AI and growth of different products, 93 00:05:25.550 --> 00:05:27.460 still comes back to two things. 94 00:05:27.720 --> 00:05:30.740 Do you like the person and do you trust the person? 95 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.380 And if you like and trust the person, 96 00:05:32.380 --> 00:05:33.940 you're gonna do business with them every time. 97 00:05:34.440 --> 00:05:38.660 So despite how our evolution of ai, despite the other products in the space, 98 00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:41.340 you gotta be able to like and trust the person to do business with them. 99 00:05:41.340 --> 00:05:44.460 And that's, that's where we strive. So I'm gonna let you hit this. 100 00:05:44.700 --> 00:05:48.220 I wanna see how you do here. Oh boy. Oh, let's go there. Go. Let's go, go again. 101 00:05:48.750 --> 00:05:49.583 Let's, 102 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:54.540 so let's talk a little bit more about the importance and the differences of 103 00:05:54.830 --> 00:05:58.420 using a broker or going directly to a merchant when doing business. 104 00:06:00.090 --> 00:06:01.940 Yeah, so they're, 105 00:06:01.940 --> 00:06:06.700 they're both needed and important and there's just diff subtle differences 106 00:06:06.700 --> 00:06:09.700 between the two. When is working with an ISO or a broker, 107 00:06:10.370 --> 00:06:11.780 depending on how they found you, 108 00:06:12.170 --> 00:06:16.260 then they can come in and build that relationship and then have access to 109 00:06:16.460 --> 00:06:19.700 multiple lenders. Um, as a lender who has a direct side, 110 00:06:19.840 --> 00:06:23.140 really understanding that you're working with more of a captive audience, 111 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:25.060 you're working with them, 112 00:06:25.120 --> 00:06:29.260 the the fund on your lender's paper and trying to get 'em in your ecosystem that 113 00:06:29.260 --> 00:06:32.900 that's the fundamental difference. Got you. Um, here in California, 114 00:06:33.180 --> 00:06:37.940 I know the state was the first to implement like a disclosure law. Yep. 115 00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:42.500 Put it into effect. Yep. How has that impacted business here, if at all? 116 00:06:43.010 --> 00:06:43.310 Yeah, 117 00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:48.180 funny enough you say that because it really hasn't impacted business at all. 118 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:50.740 We here at national funding, 119 00:06:51.270 --> 00:06:55.500 we've really gone to the letter of the law and understanding how California 120 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:58.580 wanted it to be done, how communicate with the SMBs. 121 00:06:58.880 --> 00:07:00.820 And we've seen zero impact and, 122 00:07:00.840 --> 00:07:04.500 and our process is mainly digital when it comes to the contract and 123 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:06.940 understanding the different funding options. So with that being said, 124 00:07:06.940 --> 00:07:10.820 it's been a very smooth transition. Very little impact of business. All right. 125 00:07:11.160 --> 00:07:14.420 So since this is an east coast versus west coast type of competition, 126 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.220 do you think that there's a certain style in doing business in the East Coast 127 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:23.380 versus the west Coast? And if so, how does that affect doing business? Yeah, 128 00:07:23.380 --> 00:07:27.420 so what I've noticed traveling the country is both east and west coast have a 129 00:07:27.420 --> 00:07:29.620 desire to be number one in our space. 130 00:07:30.130 --> 00:07:33.540 East Coast typically tends to be a little bit more intense, 131 00:07:33.700 --> 00:07:38.020 a little bit more focused on pushing the transaction. Um, a lot of referrals, 132 00:07:38.020 --> 00:07:40.780 relationships and the West Coast tends to be a little bit more relaxed, 133 00:07:40.900 --> 00:07:43.900 a little relationship based and really more marketing focused. 134 00:07:44.140 --> 00:07:45.300 A lot of digital marketing, 135 00:07:45.340 --> 00:07:47.940 a lot of direct mail marketing out here on the west coast. 136 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.020 So I know you rep Cali right now. Yep. Deep down inside, 137 00:07:52.020 --> 00:07:53.900 you're an East Coast boy, grew up in the, the southeast. 138 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.220 We have the Florida thing in common. We do. I lived in Florida. 139 00:07:56.220 --> 00:07:57.300 You lived in Florida, that's right. 140 00:07:57.600 --> 00:08:00.980 But what do you like about doing business here in California that you can't get 141 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:02.740 out in Florida or on the East coast? 142 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:07.980 It is probably the biggest melting pot on the planet for talent, 143 00:08:08.410 --> 00:08:12.340 culture, um, understanding that people are from all over the world, 144 00:08:12.360 --> 00:08:15.740 are trying to move to California to get jobs, do business. 145 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:19.740 So it's been a great cool opportunity to find talent out here and I think that's 146 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:23.260 the, the biggest difference between the West and the east. Nice. Let's see. 147 00:08:23.260 --> 00:08:28.180 If you do this one Nice. I love you wanna go again? Yeah, 148 00:08:28.420 --> 00:08:29.380 whatever. Let's do Sure. Sure. 149 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:33.100 So since you're a veteran in this industry and you're a veteran at Plain Pool, 150 00:08:33.810 --> 00:08:36.700 what advice would you have to the rookies that are in this industry? 151 00:08:37.160 --> 00:08:42.140 That's a great question cuz I get that asked a lot. And the biggest thing I can, 152 00:08:42.520 --> 00:08:42.740 uh, 153 00:08:42.740 --> 00:08:46.740 the biggest suggestion or advice or direction I can give is never be in it for 154 00:08:46.740 --> 00:08:49.900 the one deal. It's never worth it. No matter how big the commission is, 155 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.300 you're gonna set your business up, whether you're a lender, an iso, 156 00:08:53.780 --> 00:08:58.340 a hybrid lender, iso, whatever it is, set it up for the long term. Build your, 157 00:08:58.450 --> 00:09:01.180 your renewal pipeline, understand your SMBs, 158 00:09:01.860 --> 00:09:05.980 communicate clearly and accurately to them and really understand that the one 159 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:06.900 deal is never worth it. 160 00:09:06.900 --> 00:09:10.060 You should be in this for the long term to help SMBs fund their business. 161 00:09:10.370 --> 00:09:13.500 Awesome. I love that. All right, so before we leave, 162 00:09:13.520 --> 00:09:17.620 I'm gonna see if we do this one. No, no, no. Nope. Long shot. Long shot. 163 00:09:17.740 --> 00:09:20.220 A lot of blue out there. A lot of blue. But Justin, 164 00:09:20.230 --> 00:09:21.460 thank you so much for joining us. 165 00:09:21.460 --> 00:09:24.900 Thank you so much for playing pool with me cuz I know what we shared in this 166 00:09:24.900 --> 00:09:27.580 pool table. The advice is gonna help out the people watching this, 167 00:09:27.580 --> 00:09:30.860 especially the new guys or the people that wanna do business here in California. 168 00:09:31.340 --> 00:09:32.780 Excellent. Thank, appreciate that. Thank you so much. Great meeting. 169 00:09:32.780 --> 00:09:33.620 Thank you so much. Likewise. 170 00:09:33.620 --> 00:09:36.060 Thank you for Deb Bank for coming out and visiting us and, uh, 171 00:09:36.060 --> 00:09:38.660 let's finish the pool. Yeah, let's do it. All right, I'll go, I'll go next. 172 00:09:38.660 --> 00:09:39.300 Let's do this.